Miriam Karmel is an American writer. Her first novel, '' Being Esther'' (2013), is one of only a few involving characters in their eighties. Karmel's writing has appeared in numerous publications including

Bellevue Literary Review ''Bellevue Literary Review'' (''BLR'') is an independent literary journal that publishes fiction, nonfiction and poetry about the human body, illness, health and healing. It was founded in 2001 in Bellevue Hospital and was published by the Divisi ...

, ''The Talking Stick'', ''

Pearl A pearl is a hard, glistening object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle) of a living shelled mollusk or another animal, such as fossil conulariids. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pearl is composed of calcium carb ...

'', ''Dust & Fire'', ''Passager Books'', ''Jewish Women's Literary Annual'', and ''Water~Stone Review''. She is the recipient of Minnesota Monthly's 2002 Tamarack Award, the Kate Braverman Short Story Prize, and the Arthur Edelstein Prize for Short Fiction. Her story ''The King of Marvin Gardens'' was anthologized in

Milkweed Editions Milkweed Editions is an independent nonprofit literary publisher that originated from the ''Milkweed Chronicle'' literary and arts journal established in Minneapolis in 1979. The journal ceased and the business transitioned to publishing. It relea ...

' ''Fiction on a Stick''.

Life

Karmel was born in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. She earned a degree in history at the

University of Wisconsin-Madison A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

, a master's in American labor history from the

University of Rochester The University of Rochester (U of R, UR, or U of Rochester) is a private research university in Rochester, New York. The university grants undergraduate and graduate degrees, including doctoral and professional degrees. The University of Roc ...

, and a master's in journalism from

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

that launched her journalism career. She moved to Minnesota in 1978. Her primary focus is on short stories, but she has also written a novel and has other work published as well.

''Being Esther''

Karmel's first novel ''Being Esther'' was published in 2013 by

. It concerns an 85-year-old widow, Esther Lustig, who suddenly finds herself elderly and in the midst of a pushed-transition to an assisted-living facility she refers to as 'Bingoville'. The novel moves in and out of time, and suggests looking more closely at those who 'have more to share than we think.'

''Short fiction''

In 2009 Karmel's short story ''Happy Chicken'' won the Carol Bly Short Story Contest, sponsored by Writers Rising Up, an

Eden Prairie, Minnesota Eden Prairie is a city southwest of downtown Minneapolis in Hennepin County and the 16th-largest city in the State of Minnesota, United States. As of the 2020 census, it has a population of 64,198. The city is adjacent to the north bank of th ...

-based environmental nonprofit. In 2017 Miriam Karmel's collection ''Subtle Variations and Other Stories'' (October, 2017) won the inaugural

Holy Cow! Press Holy Cow! Press is an independent publisher based in Duluth, Minnesota. Founded in 1977, they have published more than 125 books. The press publishes between three and five new books each year, in genres including poetry, fiction, memoir, and b ...

First Fiction Award, and a $5,000 cash prize. Karmel's submission was one of 65 manuscripts from around the region. Anthony Bukoski praises Kamel for locating the universal in the details of everyday life, but states a difficulty in some cases of sorting out family relationships.

Life

''Being Esther''

''Short fiction''

References

External links